Chen Xiaomai cupped her face in her hands, looking somewhat puzzled, and said, "It's strange, the Prince hasn't come for so long!"
The prince's occasional surprise visits annoyed Xiaomai. However, when the prince wasn't coming, Xiaomai missed Prince Cheng. After all, Prince Cheng was very generous and always brought gifts when he came.
Ji Yun'an glanced at Chen Xiaomai and said, "You didn't know? The Prince went out on an incognito visit."
Chen Xiaomai asked with some surprise, "Is that so?"
Ji Yun'an gave a wry smile and said, "Yes!"
It is said that the princess and the concubine had another argument a couple of days ago about who would serve the emperor in bed. The prince, being of advanced age, used the excuse of going out for drinks to secretly leave home.
That night, the princess thought the prince was sleeping with the concubine, and the concubine thought the prince was sleeping with the princess. The next day, the two of them discovered that the prince was nowhere to be found. Later, they discovered that the prince had actually left the capital, and after several hours, they had no idea where he had gone.
The unrest within the Prince's residence had been brewing for quite some time. As soon as the Prince left, the two Princesses went to the Emperor to complain. However, the Emperor had probably been troubled by the Prince's affairs many times before, so this time he simply ignored it and said that if the Prince was in a bad mood, it would be good for him to go out and clear his head.
Chen Xiaomai blinked and said, "The prince may have gone to my elder brother's place."
Ji Yun'an nodded. He figured that the prince must have gone to Brother Lin and Brother Xiaomi's place. During this time, the dried goods that Lu Lin sent over were all delicious when cooked. He could imagine that there should be even more delicious things in Yucang County.
Chen Xiaomai tilted her head and said, "I also want to go to my older brother's place."
Ji Yun'an said somewhat apologetically, "I'm sorry to have kept you in Kyoto with me."
Chen Xiaomai blinked and said, "That's nothing."
Chen Xiaomai lowered his head, thinking to himself: Husbands and wives are supposed to be together. He only misses his older brother occasionally, but if he really goes to visit his older brother, Yun'an will be too lonely.
Lu Lin entered the mansion and saw Chen Xiaocai sitting in the hall waiting for him.
After spring, Chen Xiaocai moved away. Seeing Chen Xiaocai at midday surprised Lu Lin. "Something wrong?"
Chen Xiaocai, resting her chin on her hand, said, "His Highness went to the all-you-can-eat fish restaurant."
Lu Lin nodded and said "Oh," "Your Highness is so unpretentious!" Many people in the capital are proud of their status and probably wouldn't be willing to enter such an affordable store, but Your Highness doesn't seem to mind.
Chen Xiaocai nodded, "The prince spent ten coins to enter the shop, but after eating, he was very satisfied and gave a reward of ten taels of silver."
The people at the self-service fish restaurant were unaware of the prince's identity, and those in the county government who knew of the prince's identity were all put on gag orders.
However, since a wealthy man had tipped him 10 taels of silver, the shopkeeper had to report it to Chen Xiaocai. With just a brief description, Chen Xiaocai could roughly tell who it was.
Lu Lin's lips twitched. The prince was really too generous. This casual tip was ten taels of silver. If there were more big customers like this, it would be difficult for the self-service fish restaurant to lose money!
“Your Highness has been here for quite some time now!” Chen Xiaocai said with a strange expression.
Lu Lin nodded and said, "Yes!" This time he did not receive a letter from the princess, but the steward of the prince's mansion sent someone over several times to hint to the princess that he should find a way to persuade the prince to go back.
Lu Lin felt that the steward of the Prince's mansion was a terrible person for handing over such a hot potato.
Lu Lin glanced at Chen Xiaocai and said, "I remember you said a few days ago that the prince stayed at your inn and paid for three months' worth of accommodation right away."
Chen Xiaocai nodded and said, "That's true."
Lu Lin rested his chin on his hand and said, "Is the prince really planning to stay permanently?" Ji Yun'an wrote a letter a couple of days ago, which vaguely indicated that the prince seemed to have sneaked out this time.
Chen Xiaocai smiled and said, "Actually, there's nothing wrong with Your Highness staying here permanently."
Lu Lin: "..." This situation seems to be different from that in Shaxian. Back in Shaxian, the emperor helped urge things on. However, the emperor seems to have gained a new favorite concubine. The empress and the imperial concubine have been overshadowed by that favorite concubine. No one has mentioned the prince's matter to the emperor anymore.
The prince spent his days eating and drinking in Yucang County. He even went to the fleet to watch the people drying seafood and other goods. Whenever he saw a ship in the fleet, he would insist on going up and taking a look around.
Chen Xiaocai strongly opposed the prince's trip to the sea, but power was too much for him to bear, and he couldn't disobey the prince.
"Brother Qin, who is this Master Cheng? He's got quite the airs!" a fisherman asked.
"This guy has such a big attitude! He actually thinks our fleet's big ship magnate is too small." Back then, not long after Lu Lin formed his fleet, he had a large ship built, and a few months later, he had an even larger one built.
The fishermen called the smaller boat "Little King" and the larger boat "Big King".
"Yes! That gentleman said our boat smelled too fishy and wasn't well-designed."
“This is a fishing boat. Why bother with being pretty? Practicality is more important.” Qin Lang looked at the fishermen and said, “This Mr. Cheng is a seafood and dried goods buyer from Kyoto. He’s a big customer and very wealthy. We can’t neglect him.”
When the fishermen heard that he was the God of Wealth, their impression of Prince Cheng improved considerably. It's normal for the God of Wealth to be a little picky.
While Prince Cheng was enjoying his leisure at sea, Lu Lin was not so happy. His wife and concubine actually chased him all the way to Yucang County. After the two fierce women arrived, they went to the county government office to find Lu Lin.
Lu Lin was terrible at dealing with women, and he was completely overwhelmed. It took him a lot of effort to finally get rid of the two heroines.
With the arrival of the princess and concubine, the prince's carefree days came to an end.
Chen Xiaocai sat opposite Lu Lin and said, "Your Highness, it seems you're about to leave."
Lu Lin asked curiously, "The prince has been here for over a month! How did you know he was leaving?"
"Your Highness, I recently bought a lot of dried seafood to take to the capital. I suppose you'll be leaving soon."
Lu Lin nodded and said, "I think we can increase our stock of dried seafood when Your Highness returns to the capital this time." Your Highness has stayed in Yucang County for so long and eaten so much good food. He should promote it when he gets back. Perhaps it won't be long before many distinguished guests from the capital come to visit.
Chen Xiaocai: "..." Lu Lin is right! Back then, after Shaxian's reputation spread, many guests from Kyoto went to Shaxian. Yucang County is much closer to Kyoto than Shaxian is to Kyoto.
“In that case, I’ll open a higher-end all-you-can-eat fish restaurant soon,” Chen Xiaocai said.
This self-service fish restaurant, costing ten coins, is very popular. The fishermen in this fleet have been better off lately, and sometimes they go there for a meal. The self-service fish restaurant is doing very well, and sometimes there are so many customers that there are queues. Seeing this, the owner of the self-service fish restaurant mentioned the idea of opening a branch to Chen Xiaocai.
Lu Lin nodded and said, "Alright."
Not long after the princess arrived in Yucang County, the prince led his men back to the capital.
When Prince Cheng arrived, he traveled light and simply, but when he left, he was dragging cart after cart of things.
Prince Cheng liked all kinds of dried seafood and didn't care about the price. The merchants in Yucang County were extremely fond of Prince Cheng.
Just as Lu Lin had predicted, after the prince returned to the capital, he began to distribute large quantities of seafood from Yucang County. He highly praised the seafood from Yucang County, and indeed, some people with a penchant for good food came all the way from the capital to enjoy the delicacy.
After completing a certain level of their studies, Kyoto scholars, if able, would travel and study abroad.
As the old saying goes, "Reading ten thousand books is not as good as traveling ten thousand miles."
If you have the opportunity, traveling around and meeting local celebrities is a great way to broaden your horizons.
After Uotsang Prefecture became famous, many people began to visit it.
Chen Xiaocai built a seaside restaurant by the sea, and from the private rooms upstairs, you can see the waves.
After the restaurant was built, it attracted many tourists from other places.
Wei Qiyu sat in the Linhai Restaurant, looking at the scenery outside, and couldn't help but feel a sense of exhilaration.
Wei Qiyu fiddled with the fan in his hand and said with some admiration, "Chen Xiaolai really knows how to do business!"
Wei Qiyu's friend Su Nan smiled and said, "I heard that this Linhai Restaurant was the magistrate's idea."
Really? It seems that the hot spring restaurant back then was Lu Lin's idea.
A servant brought a plate of garlic-roasted oysters to the two of them. The oysters were covered with a layer of red and green seasonings, which looked very tempting.
Wei Qiyu tasted it. Dried oysters had been popular in Kyoto for a while. People who ate them found that they actually had some beauty and health benefits. As a result, dried oysters became more and more popular in Kyoto. Those who could afford it would even transport oysters by freezing them.
However, to be honest, these things taste best when they're fresh. Recently, many elderly wealthy men have flocked to Yucang County, mainly for the oysters.
After Prince Cheng visited Yucang County, he highly praised the seafood there, saying that it was the best in the world. This led many people to believe that Prince Cheng was exaggerating.
Prince Cheng's influence is still considerable. After Prince Cheng's visit, many gourmets in Kyoto were willing to come and try it out. Various dried seafood products from Yucang County are very expensive in Kyoto. When some people from Kyoto come, they will buy more dried seafood products from Yucang County and resell them in Kyoto, making a considerable profit. This can be considered a global version of personal shopping agents.
Wei Qiyu rested his chin on his hand, feeling somewhat amazed. He thought Lu Lin was a very peculiar person. Wherever he went, he would create delicious food, and this activity actually improved the lives of the people in the county.
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